It is highly desirable to provide EMI shielding for a communications interface, in an electronic device in order to isolate the interface from EMI signals that might be generated by circuitry in the device. One such communications interface is an interface defined by the IEEE (the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Inc.) 1394-1995 standard. In the case of electronic imaging devices, the trend is toward development of smaller, tightly packed digital cameras. It is usually difficult, if not impossible, to remotely locate and thereby isolate a communications interface relative to the electronics in the camera, as could be done, e.g., in a computer system. Instead the interface lies well within the camera and closely adjacent to camera electronics. Thus it is especially important to isolate the interface from transmissions and signals that might be generated by circuitry in the camera.
The problem with some of the current communications interfaces, such as those which follow the IEEE 1394 interface standard, is that they are not designed to be electrically conductive to the product enclosure. More specifically, an interface defined by the IEEE 1394 interface standard, which is ordinarily attached to a circuit board in the camera, "floats" with respect to an opening in the product enclosure so that a connector plug can engage the forward area of the interface connector in the camera. This results in a "hot" area of EMI susceptibility, as well as a small "dead air" region between the connector and the enclosure that can act as an EMI radiator. Nonetheless, the general robustness of these interfaces often make them the desired choice for digital cameras. Particularly in the case of tightly packed high speed electronics in a modern digital camera, the performance of the camera may suffer unless EMI protection can be designed into the camera to include the communications interface.